Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Catherine Hunter is the daughter of a senior government official on the island of Anglya. She’s one of the privileged – she has luxurious clothes, plenty to eat, and is protected from the Collections which have ravaged families throughout the land. But Catherine longs to escape the confines of her life, before her dad can marry her off to a government brat and trap her forever.

So Catherine becomes Cat, pretends to be a kid escaping the Collections, and stows away on the skyship Stormdancer. As they leave Anglya behind and brave the storms that fill the skies around the islands of Tellus, Cat’s world becomes more turbulent than she could ever have imagined, and dangerous secrets unravel her old life once and for all . . .

Monday, 28 April 2014

As she prepares to tell her family, the unthinkable happens. Her village is razed by soldiers: her grandfather murdered, her twin sister taken.

On a desperate mission to rescue her beloved Gwyneth, Megan discovers a terrifying truth - that the destruction of her old life is inextricably linked to her unborn child. The feared witch soldiers, vanquished a generation ago, have returned to see the fulfilment of a prophecy: one that will put Megan and her new friends - Eleanor, a fiery ex-aristocrat, and Damon, a wayward charmer - at the heart of the greatest war her world has ever known.

Sunday, 27 April 2014

You're waiting for the postman - he's bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist - a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings it's your old girlfriend; and she's carrying a baby. Your baby.

You're happy to look after it, just for an hour or two. But then she doesn't come back - and your future suddenly looks very different.

So this is the end of my very first Readathon. Congrats everyone on all your reading!! It's been so much fun even though I didn't get to read for as many hours as I'd hoped. The mini challenges were great and so much fun and really can't wait for the next one! I managed to read two and a half books out of my four plus I read a book in the morning before it started. Really can't complain. Here's my stats at the end:

*Yawns* Morning everyone! It's 8:25 here in the UK and I've just finished my second book. I'm hoping I can squeeze another in before the end of the readathon but we'll see. Here's my current stats and my Book Jenga as a mini challenge hosted by Ellie @ Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Saturday, 26 April 2014

This challenge is hosted by The Book Monster who has asked us to share our shelfies with her!

So I have one bookcase. Just one. But I also have boxes under my bed, books piled up under my desk and books piled up under my windowsill. Books behind my bed and in the ottoman by the bed. I snapped a few hasty pictures of some of the books here! Mine's a mixture of shelfie, floorie and under deskies (er? ha)

Have you taken part in this challenge? Share your shelfies with me! :)

My first update of the day reading wise! I've not done as much reading as I'd hoped but not done too bad considering it's been quite a busy day. I've been chopping stuff up in a field and to the gym so not a bad day. Frustratingly I read a book this morning pre-readathon just because I wanted to but I refuse to count it! Haha. Anyway, here's my stats:

Currently reading: Poison by Sarah PinboroughBooks finished: Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'PorterPages read: 261Running total of pages read: 261Amount of time spent reading: 4 hoursRunning total of time spent reading: 4 hoursSnacks: Pizza, salad, cornetto, tea (food not the drink)

Hi guys! Hope your Readathons are going well. Mine's been a bit of a struggle so far. I've had to go up to my Gramp's field to dig out some of the hill and been to the gym so I've not got much reading done. I've taken part in most of the challenges though and they've been so much fun! How's all of yours going?

This mini challenge is hosted by Lisa's World of Books. The aim is to pick three of the categories from her list and recommend our best books of the year so far within those categories. I could pick one for pretty much every category - it's so hard! But I've picked:

Friday, 25 April 2014

Yesterday was a phenomenal day for cover releases! Not only was Maas' Heir of Fire's cover revealed by Bloomsbury and Maggie Stiefvater revealed the third Raven Cycle cover, Blue Lily, Lily Blue was revealed. Here they are in all their stunning glory:

Heir of Fire (#3) - Sarah J. Maas

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien's only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan's Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn.

Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King's Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan's biggest threat - and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (#3) - Maggie Stiefvater

[No synopsis available yet]

I LOVE THAT THEY ALL MATCH EACH OTHER. I am actually in book cover heaven with these! I love them, I love them, I love them! Bring on September and October!

I finally decided to sign-up to my very first Readathon! I have no idea how I'm going to, if I'm going to be able to stick to it or what I'm doing exactly but it's bound to be fun. I haven't even considered what I'm going to be munching on or anything throughout the day but I'm going to wing it and see how everything goes!

Thursday, 24 April 2014

This is a meme hosted by me here at my blog :).The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! I will be picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All I ask is to link back here, to my blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come in the Harry Potter section of my blog here.

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

This is the second part of my London Book Fair posts. In this one I'm going to share with you guys the things I learnt in a few of the seminars which were more focused on getting a career in publishing. These were so, so helpful to me because it's my absolute dream. The people on the panels were absolutely lovely and it's only furthered my need to be a part of that industry!

Sunday, 20 April 2014

This year I attended my first ever London Book Fair, and I can guarantee it will not be my last! I had such a good time, attended so many seminars and met one of my childhood heroes so it was a pretty successful week. I finally met Ula @ Blog of Erised and we spent the week together browsing bookshops, buying far too many books, attending seminars, met up with Vicky at a Speakeasy event, being in general awe of the fair and doing touristy things in London.

It was a pretty awesome week in general. My boyfriend Phill got himself some work experience at a Headhunting company in central London and I started on handing out some shiny business cards. My main aim was to get as much out of the fair as possible that would help me get into publishing. I feel like I got some really helpful things out of it and really amazing advice. I felt so at home chatting with Lauren Ace, the Children's Publicity Manager at Macmillan because she used to work at Swansea Waterstones! My old local during university. I paid a visit to the Angry Robot people and it was so lovely to see Marc and Lee again.

Anyway, here's the list of seminars that I attended and will be recapping in later posts:

Saturday, 19 April 2014

Every time I read Hodder and Stoughton now, all I can ever think of is Hodor. Hodor, Hodor, Hodor. If that's not a sign that I need to step away from books for awhile I don't know what is! Anyway, this post is all about the books that are coming this year from Hodder & Stoughton. I picked up a catalogue at London Book Fair and man, I'm so excited about so many of these books!

Thursday, 17 April 2014

This is a meme hosted by me here at my blog :).The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! I will be picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All I ask is to link back here, to my blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come in the Harry Potter section of my blog here.

Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Most people ignored the outrageous reports on the news. But they became too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the street. Then the Internet died. The television and radio went silent. The phones stopped ringing. And we couldn't look outside anymore. Malorie raises the children the only way she can; indoors. The house is quiet. The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows. They are out there. She might let them in. The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall. Soon she will have to wake them. Soon she will have to blindfold them. Today they must leave the house. Today they will risk everything.

Monday, 14 April 2014

The lovely Erin Lawless, author of The Best Thing I Never Had stops by the blog today to talk about her time at university, what it meant for her and how influenced her fantastic debut! I cannot recommend this book enough. It's touching, so very real and so moving. This is one of the most lovely guest posts I've had on the blog and I'm so excited to share it with you guys:

Sunday, 13 April 2014

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. She is less than thrilled about boarding school in Paris - until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, he has it all - including a serious girlfriend. Will Anna get her French kiss?

It's Sunday again so we all know that it's time for Showcase Sunday. It's a lovely weekly meme hosted by Vicky over at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and it allows us to show off all the lovely buys this week. I love this meme as it gives a chance for us to show and browse so many books!

Saturday, 12 April 2014

As part of LGBT April, Pantomime author Laura Lam is here on my blog to talk about LGBT within the fantasy genre. Over to Laura:

The Somewhat Hidden Rainbow in Fantasy

At first glance, it seems like GLBT fantasy is few and far
between. And yes, compared to most fantasy published, it is a small percentage
(hard numbers to come later). Science fiction seems to focus more on GLBT than straight
up fantasy as well. Yet rather than write a doom and gloom article, I wanted to
celebrate all the great GLBT fantasy there is out there and list some resources
where people can find more. Lastly, I’ll write a little bit about my own GLBT
fantasy series, Pantomime & Shadowplay.

Friday, 11 April 2014

Today I'm excited to reveal a beautiful cover for Soul Bound by Linda Foster. Published by Glass House Press, it's the first in a series and sounds amazing!

Soul Bound - Linda Foster

Ash laughed -- an evil, hollow sound – and grasped his knife more firmly. Kali blinked slowly, her heart breaking. This wasn’t her Ash, she reminded herself. This wasn’t the boy who’d sold his soul to save his sister, or fought by her side. This wasn’t the boy who had changed everything she thought she knew about life, love, and herself.

“I’ll die before hurting you,” Kali repeated, lifting her chin. He possessed the greater strength now, she knew, and would beat her even if she fought. At least, in the end, she would die at his hand rather than someone else’s.

Maybe he would still win his soul back that way.

A boy who sold his soul to save his sister’s life.

A fallen angel turned demon, seeking her redemption.

And a surprising love story that could save them both … or destroy the world.

Join Ash and Kali, and a cast of dark characters, as they fight for the fallen angels of the world, the right to choose their own path, and the one thing they never thought they’d find – true love.

Thursday, 10 April 2014

This is a meme hosted by me here at my blog :).The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! I will be picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All I ask is to link back here, to my blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come in the Harry Potter section of my blog here.

Sunday, 6 April 2014

It's Sunday again so we all know that it's time for Showcase Sunday. It's a lovely weekly meme hosted by Vicky over at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and it allows us to show off all the lovely buys this week. I love this meme as it gives a chance for us to show and browse so many books!

Saturday, 5 April 2014

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.

When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.

Friday, 4 April 2014

Strikes. Starvation. Riots. Britain is at breaking-point and Aura is blind to it all. The Cult of Artemis is the only home she’s ever known. Enclosed in its luxury lifestyle, the unrest gripping the country seems to belong to a distant world. Her dream is to serve the Goddess and taking a vow of chastity and obedience seems a small price to pay. But days before Aura is due to be initiated as a Priestess, she meets Aiden, the rebellious son of a cult insider, whose radical ideas and unsettling charm force Aura to question everything – and everyone – she knows.

Thursday, 3 April 2014

Five years ago they’d been seven friends at university that laughed hard and loved harder.

Nicky and Miles, the couple that were always meant to be… Leigha and Adam, maybe not.

So when Harriet and Adam grew close, during those endless days in the library and too many seminars they (well, Adam) hadn’t prepared for, they did the one thing that changed everything. They kept a secret. And when it came out, it all fell apart.

When the day comes for bridesmaids to be chosen and best men to fulfil drunken promises, Nicky and Miles’ wedding isn’t just a wedding, it’s a reunion – loaded with past hurts, past regrets, past loves…

The Best Thing I Never Had is in turns funny and sad, but always honest, about friendship in all its forms and the practicality of second chances.

This is a meme hosted by me here at my blog :).The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! I will be picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All I ask is to link back here, to my blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come in the Harry Potter section of my blog here.

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

So March has been a pretty dull month. Up until today, nothing of excitement had happened. I'm still reading through the A Song of Ice and Fire series and absolutely loving it, discovered some wonderful new books and prepared for London Book Fair next week. It's only since looking back at this month that I've realised I've been lazing about a bit. There's just been no time in the day to do anything. I've fallen behind on my Goodreads Challenge and everything (though I totally blame GRRM for that).

On the plus side though, today I secured myself some work experience within Orion Books Publicity in August! *squeals* I am sooooo happy! If I hadn't been working earlier I would have bounced around the ENTIRE library. After posting earlier about becoming a little downhearted about getting my dream job, this just feels like a massive sign to keep at it. Something will come my way! As well as this, in just six days I will be hopping onto the MegaBus all the way to London for the London Book Fair and to meet my blogging buddy Ula. This week is off to a brilliant start.